Product description

Homer's "Iliad" is the greatest and most influential epic poem ever written, telling of the tragic and bloody climax to the ten-year siege of Troy. This "Penguin Classics" edition was originally translated by E.V. Rieu, revised and updated with an introduction and notes by Peter Jones and D.C.H. Rieu. One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's "Iliad" tells the story of the darkest episode in the "Trojan War". At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge - even though he knows this will ensure his own untimely death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium, and of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals. E.V. Rieu's acclaimed translation of "The Iliad" was one of the first titles published in "Penguin Classics", and now has classic status itself.
For this edition, Rieu's text has been revised, and now a new introduction and notes by Peter Jones complement the original introduction. Seven Greek cities claim the honour of being the birthplace of Homer (c. 8th-7th century BC), the poet to whom the composition of the Iliad and Odyssey are attributed. "The Iliad" is the oldest surviving work of Western literature, but the identity - or even the existence - of Homer himself is a complete mystery, with no reliable biographical information having survived. If you enjoyed the "Iliad", you might like Homer's "Odyssey", also available in "Penguin Classics".

Author information

Homer is thought to have lived c.750-700 BC in Ionia and is believed to be the author of the earliest works of Western Literature: The Odyssey and The Iliad. E V Rieu was a celebrated translator from Latin and Greek, and editor of Penguin Classics from 1944-64. His son, D C H Rieu, has revised his work. Peter Jones is former lecturer in Classics at Newcastle. He co-founded the 'Friends of Classics' society and is the editor of their journal and a columnist for The Spectator.

Review quote

"Fitzgerald has solved virtually every problem that has plagued translators of Homer. The narrative runs, the dialogue speaks, the military action is clear, and the repetitive epithets become useful text rather than exotic relics." -"Atlantic Monthly " "Fitzgerald's swift rhythms, bright images, and superb English make Homer live as never before...This is for every reader in our time and possibly for all time."-"Library Journal " "[Fitzgerald's "Odyssey" and "Iliad"] open up once more the unique greatness of Homer's art at the level above the formula; yet at the same time they do not neglect the brilliant texture of Homeric verse at the level of the line and the phrase." -"The Yale Review""What an age can read in Homer, what its translators can manage to say in his presence, is one gauge of its morale, one index to its system of exultations and reticences. The supple, the iridescent, the ironic, these modes are among our strengths, and among Mr. Fitzgerald's." -"National Review" With an Introduction by Gregory Nagy

Table of contents

The IliadForeword
Introduction
Introduction to the 1950 Edition
Notes on this Revision
The Main Characters
Further Reading
Maps:
1. A reconstruction of Homer's imagined battlefields
2. The Troad
3. Trojan places and contingents
4. Homeric Greece
5. Greek contingents at Troy
Preliminaries
The Iliad
1. Plague and Wrath
2. A Dream, a Testing and the Catalogue of Ships
3. A Duel and a Trojan View of the Greeks
4. The Oath is Broken and Battle Joined
5. Diomedes' Heroics
6. Hector and Andromache
7. Ajax Fights Hector
8. Hector Triumphant
9. The Embassy to Achilles
10. Diomedes and Odysseus: The Night Attack
11. Achilles Takes Notice
12. Hector Storms the Wall
13. The Battle at the Ships
14. Zeus Outmanoeuvred
15. The Greeks at Bay
16. The Death of Patroclus
17. The Struggle Over Patroclus
18. Achilles' Decision
19. The Feud Ends
20. Achilles on the Rampage
21. Achilles Fights the River
22. The Death of Hector
23. The Funeral and the Games
24. Priam and Achilles
Appendices
1. A Brief Glossary
2. Ommitted Fathers' Names
Index